Written In Stone

Student Hopes Bill Passes To Make Scallop State Fossil

WILLIAMSBURG — Molly Schaefer was not sure if Virginia legislators would listen last summer when she asked them to make a locally found shell the official state fossil.

After all, Molly says, thousands of bills go through the General Assembly each year, and the state deals with many issues that are more important than the recognition of an extinct scallop.

But when Del. George Grayson, D-Williamsburg, followed up her letter with a call, the 17-year-old Lafayette High School senior knew she had caught his interest.

"I thought it was really neat that he called," she says. "They actually listen to people."

After their phone conversation and additional lobbying by Gerald Johnson, geology professor at the College of William and Mary, Grayson sponsored a bill to make the shell the state's fossil.

Grayson's bill, approved last month in the General Assembly, will become law if it is signed by Gov. Doug Wilder in the next few weeks. Confident that the bill is a sure bet, Grayson is trying to arrange a signing ceremony and a meeting between Wilder, Johnson, Molly and other students who were involved in the project.

The 4.5 million-year-old shell, called Chesapecten jeffersonius, can be found in the Chesapeake Bay and the James River. It is named after Thomas Jefferson, who mentioned the fossil in his writings about natural history.

Molly first learned about the shell, which looks like the Shell Oil Co. logo, in a Governor's School geology course taught by Johnson last summer. Johnson suggested that students write to their representatives about making the shell the state fossil, and Molly took his suggestion to heart.

"She volunteers and asks questions and challenges people," Johnson says of Molly, whom he has known since she was a small child. "She pursued this with a lot of energy."

Molly's letter to Grayson emphasized her belief that adopting a state fossil could bring attention to geology and science in general.

"You can find hundreds of these wonderful looking shells just by going a few miles from your house," Molly says. "I'm hoping that kids will hear about this and think a little bit about how incredible the world is."

Grayson says he was impressed by Molly and her campaign.

"By having a state fossil we'll recognize not only Virginia's natural heritage, but also spark the interest of more students in science," he says. "I was especially moved by the fact that her letter reflected an interest in science."

Molly, a straight-A student who traveled to Venezuela to visit the rain forest last year, says her interest in biology goes back to when she was a little girl.

"It's always been fascinating for me to see where we came from," she says. "It's miraculous how everything works together."